Athletic ball telemetry apparatus and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

An athletic ball includes a receiver, a processor, a transmitter, a power source and/or a multiplexing signal relay. The athletic ball receives GPS signal date from earth-orbiting satellites in order to determine the location of the ball. An output device is utilized to display the ball location and/or provide analytical data pertaining to movement of the athletic ball.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates generally to athletic balls. More particularly,this invention provides for an athletic ball comprising a GPS receiver,a microprocessor and a transmitter for determining the telemetry of theball and a corresponding method of use thereof.

2. Related Art

Various athletic games, like baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf andother similar sports employ the use of athletic balls. Often it isadvantageous to have access to telemetric data pertaining to athleticball position and/or ball movement dynamics such as variable direction,velocity and/or acceleration. Improvements in sports performance timeand again result from investigation into the physics of the sport.Accordingly, athletes and others have a desire to evaluate variousphysical characteristics of athletic ball movement by analyzingtelemetric data pertaining to athletic balls. By way of example, hittingcoaches may seek to review telemetric data corresponding to how fast abaseball accelerates and how far it flies after being hit by aparticular batter or lacrosse coaches may want to track ball movementduring a game to study strength of field.

Ball location is particularly critical in the game of golf. Golfers seekto position a golf ball strategically throughout a series of ballmovements on a golf course. Thus, it is advantageous to understandflight characteristics of a golf ball in order to gain knowledge andskill needed better maneuver a ball on a course. Furthermore, during atypical golf game, it is not uncommon for a golf ball to become obscuredfrom view by course terrain. Hence various devices and methods have beenimplemented to provide information about golf ball flight dynamicsand/or to locate hit golf balls. However, the various devices andmethods are inadequate in that the devices and methods do not provide anathletic ball affording capability for receiving, processing,transmitting, and/or relaying GPS signal data pertaining to the ball.Instead the various devices and methods relevant to a golf ball, and/orathletic balls in general, employ positioning of additional exteriorimplements and/or devices to accomplish telemetric analysis of the ball

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved athletic ball designincluding a receiver, a processor, a transmitter, and/or a multiplexingsignal relay to determine the telemetry of the athletic ball and acorresponding method of operation pertinent ball use.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an athletic ball telemetryapparatus that offers improved operability.

A first general aspect of the invention provides for an athletic ballcomprising a receiver, the receiver being configured to receive GPSsignal data, a microprocessor, the microprocessor being configured totriangulate received GPS signal data and determine ball position, and atransmitter, the transmitter being configured to transmit ball positionto an output device.

A second general aspect of the invention provides for an athletic ballcomprising a multiplexing signal relay, said relay configured to receivesignals simultaneously broadcast by a plurality of earth-orbitingsatellites and communicate the received satellite signals to aposition-processing output device.

A third general aspect of the invention provides for a method fordetermining the telemetry of an athletic ball, wherein the methodcomprises providing an athletic ball having a GPS receiver, amicroprocessor, and a transmitter, receiving satellite signal data intothe receiver included within the ball, processing the received data tocompute the position of the ball; and transmitting the computed balllocation to an output device.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be apparent fromthe following more particular description of various embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the embodiments of this invention will be described in detail,with reference to the following figures, wherein like designationsdenote like members, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a front view of an embodiment of an athletic golf ball,in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view of an embodiment of an athletic golfball, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a front view of an embodiment of an athletic baseball, inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a sectional view of an embodiment of an athleticbaseball, in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a method ofusing an embodiment of an athletic ball, in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although certain embodiments of the present invention will be shown anddescribed in detail, it should be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims. The scope of the present invention will in no way belimited to the number of constituting components, the materials thereof,the shapes thereof, the relative arrangement thereof, etc., and aredisclosed simply as an example of an embodiment. The features andadvantages of the present invention are illustrated in detail in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout the drawings.

As a preface to the detailed description, it should be noted that, asused in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms“a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a front view of one embodimentof an athletic ball such as golf ball 100, in accordance with thepresent invention. The athletic golf ball 100 may have a dimpled outersurface 10. The dimpled outer surface 10 may be geometrically designedto provide aerodynamic flight characteristics desirable for accurateball flight. For example, the dimpled outer surface 10 may be configuredwith spaced apart dimples having a particular surface depth such thatthe athletic golf ball 100, upon being hit by a golf club and propelledaway from the club, flies farther and straighter than a golf ball havinga non-dimpled surface. As the athletic golf ball 100 may be employed inthe sport of golf, the athletic golf ball 100 may be designed formaximum conformance with golfing standards and rules pertaining to ballsize, weight, geometric design and the like, while still obtaining theadvantages of the present invention. To extend the durability of theathletic golf ball 100, the dimpled outer surface or layer 10 may beformed of materials such as polymers, or composite polymeric mixturesand other like materials that provide for an efficiently manufacturedimpact resistant surface capable of withstanding wear and tear fromnormal golf play.

Referring further to the drawings, FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view of anembodiment of an athletic ball such as golf ball 100, in accordance withthe present invention. Spherically within the dimpled outer surface 10may be an elastic layer 20. The elastic layer 20 facilitates greaterbouncing propensity and improved propulsion of the athletic golf ball100 off a golf club head following impact. Hence, the elastic layer 20may be formed of materials such as rubber, synthetic rubber, elastomers,plastics, polymers and other like materials having a high degree ofelasticity. The elastic layer 20 may be fabricated by winding elasticstrands to form a spherical layer of a particular thickness to provideenhanced bouncing and impact propulsion properties. Furthermore, theelastic layer 20 may fabricated as a homogenous layer of a singleelastic material having a particular spherical thickness.

As further depicted in FIG. 2, the embodied athletic golf ball 100 mayinclude an inner core 30. The inner core 30 may be designed to deflectimpact forces around or away from interior components such as a receiver50, a processor 60, a transmitter 70 and a power source 80 and/or othercomponents residing within the inner core 30. For example, the innercore 30 may be formed of material having greater rigidity than theelastic layer 20 so that impact forces moving through the elastic layermay deflect around the inner core 30. Moreover, the inner core 30 may bedesigned to absorb or transfer impact forces. For example, the innercore 30 may comprise a rubber or rubber-like exterior spherical wallhousing a viscous liquid contained therein. The viscous liquid may actto absorb and diffuse impact forces and thereby protect interiorcomponents.

As shown still further in FIG. 2, the embodied athletic golf ball 100may include a shock resistant encasement 40 for durably holding interiorcomponents such as a receiver 50, a processor 60, a transmitter 70 and apower source 80 and/or other like components within the inner core 30.The shock resistant encasement 40 may hold the interior components inplace so that they are not jostled and/or damaged upon ball impact.Moreover, the shock resistant encasement 40 may provide an environmentalbarrier for the interior components keeping out damaging liquid and/orsolid particles. Further, the shock resistant encasement 40 mayfacilitate physical and electrical coupling of the interior components.While the encasement 40, as shown, may be spherically shaped, those inthe art should recognize that other geometries may be utilized in theshock resistant encasement 40 design. For example, the shock resistantencasement 40 may be designed to compensate for the additional mass ofinterior components such that the center of gravity of the athletic golfball 100 resides as close to the spherical center of the ball 100 aspossible. Furthermore, the shock resistant encasement 40 may utilizedesigns have more or less structural mass positioned strategicallythroughout the encasement 40 body. Still further, the shock resistantencasement 40 may act in conjunction with a small internal gyroscope ofother like component capable of facilitating modification of themass/momentum displacement of the ball.

The physical shape, mass, density and structural design of the dimpledouter surface 10, the elastic layer 20, the internal core 30 and theshock resistant encasement 40 of the inventive athletic golf ball 100may work together to provide athletic operation of the golf ball 100that is, in physical function, as similar as possible to anoff-the-shelf regulation golf ball. For example, while stillaccomplishing the advantages of the present invention, the athletic golfball 100 may be designed to have a weight and athletic feel similar to astandard golf ball such that golfing with the athletic golf ball 100 isas comparable as possible with golf play involving an ordinary golfball.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the embodied athletic golf ball 100may include a receiver 50. The receiver 50 may be configured to receiveGPS signal data. As such, the receiver may have capability to receivesignals from at least two earth-orbiting satellites containinginformation indicative of the satellites' position and current time. Inaddition, the receiver may have capability to receive signals fromland-based transmitters. For example, an embodiment of the receiver mayact in conjunction with a differential global positioning system DGPS tocorrelate received signal data with a land-based stationary receiverfixed at a known location. Moreover, the receiver may accept signalsfrom land-based transmitters of output devices such as the portableoutput device 400 (an embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 5) and/orstationary output devices working in conjunction with athletic golf ball100. The receiver may be capable of receiving multiple signalssimultaneously. Hence, the receiver may be responsive to transmissionsprovided by land-based transmitters while at the same time collectingsignal data from orbiting satellites.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, an embodiment of athletic golf ball100 may include a microprocessor 60. The microprocessor 60 may beconfigured to triangulate received GPS signal data and determine theglobal position of athletic golf ball 100. Accordingly, themicroprocessor 60 may be coupled to the receiver 50 in a mannereffective to process the signals received by the receiver 50. Inaddition to processing GPS signals, the microprocessor 60 may alsoprocess signals received from land-based transmitters. Such land-basedsignals may contain control data which, when processed, may enable themicroprocessor to initiate various microelectronic functionscorresponding to the microprocessor 60, receiver 50, transmitter 70,power source 80, and/or other like components. For example, themicroprocessor 60 may be coupled to the transmitter 70 and may controlwhat transmissions are emitted by the transmitter 70. Moreover, themicroprocessor 60 may direct time duration of transmissions broadcast bytransmitter 70. Further, the microprocessor may be coupled to the powersource 80 and may actuate various capabilities pertaining to the powersource 80 such as regulating power provision and metering powercapacity. Still further, the microprocessor 80 may be coupled to and maymanage operation of other interior components included within anathletic golf ball 100. The microprocessor 60 may be an off-the-shelfchip-set readily adaptable for operation within an athletic golf ball100, may be a modified chip-set for specific use within an athletic ball100, or may be comprised of specially designed integratedmicroelectronic circuitry capable of performing processing functionsrequisite with using an athletic golf ball 100.

Still referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment of an athletic golf ball 100may include a transmitter 70. The transmitter 70 may be configured totransmit global position of the athletic ball 100. Signal transmissionmay be constant or may be periodic, wherein the transmitter 70broadcasts signals intermittently in a pulse-like fashion. Intermittentsignal transmitting may preserve power because the transmitter 70 maynot be required to constantly emit a signal. The phase of each pulsedtransmission and the corresponding rate of intermittent pulsing mayvary. Furthermore, the transmitter 70 may emit intermittenttransmissions for predetermined time periods. For example, thetransmitter 70 may intermittently transmit global ball location signalsfor a period of time ranging from milliseconds to days. The time periodfor intermittent signal transmission may be initiated by the user of theathletic golf ball 100 and set by reception of a control signal enablingoperation of microprocessor 60 working in conjunction with transmitter70. The transmitter 70 may also have capability to transmit signal datapertaining to management of power source 80. Those in the art shouldrecognize that the transmitter 70 may emit electromagnetic signalsand/or ultra sonic signals.

With still further reference to FIG. 2, an embodiment of athletic golfball 100 may include a power source 80. The power source 80 may be abattery. The battery may be a long lasting off-the-shelf batteryadaptable for use with micro-components. In addition, the power source80 may be rechargeable. For example, the power source 80 may be acapacitive store capable of being recharged via an electromagneticfield. Further, the power source 80 may be a micro fuel cell adaptablefor use within the athletic golf ball 100. Further still, the powersource 80 may be a solar cell capable of generating solar power fromlight shown on the athletic ball 100. Even further still, the powersource 80 may be a kinetic micro generator capable of converting kineticmovement into electrical power available for components within theathletic ball 100. The power source 80 may be capable of multiple powerlevel outputs. For instance, the power source 80 may have a dormantmode, wherein minimal power is expended. Moreover, the power source 80may have an active mode, wherein power may be actively provided fortransmission, processing, and/or reception of signal data. The powersource 80 should be shock resistant and capable of enduring the physicalrigors consistent with normal use of an athletic golf ball 100.Furthermore, the power source 80 may facilitate intermittent signaltransmission. Additionally, the power source 80 may be configured foroperation in conjunction with a receiver 50, microprocessor 60,transmitter 70, and/or other like components which may reside andfunction within the interior of an athletic golf ball 100.

Referring again to the drawings, FIG. 3 depicts a front view of anembodiment of an athletic ball such as baseball 200, in accordance withthe present invention. The athletic baseball 200 may have a stitchedouter surface 210. As the athletic baseball 200 may be employed in thesport of baseball, the athletic baseball 200 may be designed for maximumconformance with baseball standards and rules pertaining to ball size,weight, geometric design, roughness of outer surface, stitching pattern,and the like, while still obtaining the advantages of the presentinvention. To help extend the durability of the athletic baseball 200,the stitched outer surface 210 may be formed of materials such asleather, synthetic leather, or other like materials that provide for aresilient surface capable of withstanding wear and tear from normal playand practice pertaining to the game of baseball.

With further reference to the drawings, FIG. 4 depicts a sectional viewan embodiment of an athletic ball such as baseball 200. Within thestitched outer surface 210 of athletic baseball 200 may be a twine layer220. The twine layer 200 may be formed of string, twine, or threadedmaterial wrapped around itself and/or an inner core 230. The inner core230 may be formed of rubber, plastic, cork wood, synthetic cork, and/orother like materials. Further, the inner core 230 may be designed todeflect impact forces around or away from interior components such as arelay 250, a movement sensor 260, a power source 280 and/or othercomponents residing within athletic baseball 200. Moreover, the innercore 230 may be designed to absorb or transfer impact forces. Forexample, the inner core 230 may comprise a rubber or rubber-likeexterior spherical wall housing a viscous liquid contained therein. Theviscous liquid may act to absorb and diffuse impact forces and therebyprotect interior components. In addition, within the inner core 230 maybe a shock resistant encasement 240. The shock resistant encasement 240may secure the interior components in place so that they are notfractured and/or demolished upon ball impact. Additionally, the shockresistant encasement 240 may provide protect interior components fromunwanted external contamination. Furthermore, the shock resistantencasement 240 may facilitate physical and electrical coupling of theinterior components. While the encasement 240, as shown, may bespherically shaped, the shock resistant encasement 240 may have othershapes designed to compensate for the additional mass of interiorcomponents thereby keeping the center of gravity of the athleticbaseball 200 as close as possible to the spherical center of thebaseball 200.

Referring further to FIG. 4, an embodiment of an athletic ball such asbaseball 200 may include a multiplexing signal relay 250 configured toreceive signals simultaneously broadcast by two or more earth-orbitingsatellites and communicate the plurality of received satellite signalsto a position-processing output device (such as depicted in oneembodiment of a portable output device 400 shown in FIG. 5). Themultiplexing signal relay 250 may pass on the received satellite signalsto a position-processing output device in a manner that retains thetime-dependent nature of the signal data. Thus, the position-processingoutput device (such as portable output device 400, and/or a stationaryoutput device working in conjunction with athletic ball 200) may becapable of triangulating GPS signal data communicated by the relay 250within the ball 200, thereby rendering the global position of the ballwithout a need to globally locate the position of any exterior devicessuch as the position-processing output device and/or otherfixed-position elements. Further, the multiplexing signal relay 250 maybe coupled to and act in conjunction with other internal components suchas a movement sensor 260, a power source 280, and/or other likecomponents. For example, the multiplexing signal relay may commencereception and communication of GPS signal data based upon a controlinitiated by a motion sensor 260, or may function relative to managedpower supply provided by power source 280. Additionally, themultiplexing signal relay 250 may be configured with multipleoperational modes. For instance, the multiplexing signal relay may havea dormant mode, wherein the relay does not actively pass on signals andit may have an active mode wherein signals are actively relayed.Moreover, the multiplexing signal relay 250 may be capable of relayingsignals broadcast by land-based transmitters to an embodiment of aposition-processing output device such as the device embodied asportable output device 400 (shown in FIG. 5).

Referring further still to FIG. 4, the athletic ball such as baseball200 may include a movement sensor 260. The movement sensor 260 may be apiezoelectric sensor or another sensor capable of sensing physicalmovement. Where the sensor 260 is included within the athletic baseball200, the sensor may capable of detecting ball movement. The movementsensor may be coupled to the multiplexing signal relay 250, power source280, and/or other like components. For example, when the ball is moved,the movement sensor 260 may initiate active operation of a previouslydormant multiplexing signal relay 250. Moreover, the movement sensor 260may activate the power source 280, which, prior to sensed movement mayhave been in a power-saving mode. Accordingly, the power source 280 maybe capable of multiple power level outputs. For instance, the powersource 280 may have a dormant mode, wherein minimal power is expended.Moreover, the power source 280 may have an active mode, wherein powermay be actively provided for relaying signal data. The power source 280should be shock resistant and capable of enduring the physical rigorsconsistent with normal use of an athletic baseball 200. Further, thepower source 280 may be a battery, a solar cell, or a micro fuel celldesigned for use within an athletic ball 200.

With continued reference to the drawings, FIG. 5 depicts a schematicillustration of an embodiment of a method of using an embodiment of anathletic ball such as golf ball 100, in accordance with the presentinvention. The athletic golf ball 100 is provided with a GPS receiver, amicroprocessor, and a transmitter. It should be recognized that theathletic ball 100 may be also provided with a multiplexing signal relay,a movement sensor, a power source, and/or other like components. GPSsatellites 300 a-c broadcast corresponding signals 310 a-c which arereceived by the receiver included within the ball 100. Typical GPSsatellites, such as satellites 300 a-c, synchronize operations so thatrepeating signals are transmitted at the same instant. The signals,moving at the speed of light, arrive at the ball 100 at slightlydifferent times because some satellites are farther away than others.Hence, signal 310 a may be take longer to reach the ball 100 than signal310 b, but may take a shorter amount of time to reach the ball 100 thansignal 310 c. The distance from the ball 100 to the GPS satellites canbe determined by estimating the amount of time it takes for theirsignals to reach the receiver or relay included within the ball. When aprocessor located within the ball 100 working in conjunction with theincluded receiver estimates the distance to the GPS satellites, theball's 100 global position can be calculated in three dimensions. Theprocessor “knows” the location of the satellites, because thatinformation is included in the time-dependent satellite transmissions.By estimating how far away a satellite is, the processor also “knows”the ball is located somewhere on the surface of an imaginary spherecentered at the satellite. The processor may then determine the sizes ofseveral spheres, one for each satellite. The athletic ball 100 islocated where these spheres intersect.

The computed ball location may be transmitted to an output device. Forexample, a transmitter within the ball 100 may emit signal 150 which maybe received by portable output device 400. The portable output device400 may be an electronic device such as a PDA running correspondingsoftware and having a graphical display, a handheld computer with an LCDscreen functioning with a corresponding operating system, adigital-communication-enabled wristwatch having a color display and GPScapability, a sports radio having a small pixilated monitor, adigitalized visor capable of being worn like eyeglasses and displayingthe ball location on a virtual GPS map, a cellular phone capable ofcommunicating with and displaying the location of the ball 100, and/orany other portable apparatus capable of displaying the computed ball 100location and/or any like device or similar combination of devices ascontained in a portable electronic unit. Further, the portable outputdevice 400 may run mapping software functional with common GPS systemsand the software may be adaptable with various embodiments of theportable output device 400. Thus, an athletic ball 100 may havecapability to communicate signal data to various embodiments of aportable output device 400 running various software programs.Accordingly, a user may be able to observe a displayed graphical map anddetermine the location of an athletic ball 100 by using any portableoutput device 400 capable of receiving signal data from the ball 100 andoutputting it to the user. Communication between an athletic ball 100and multiple portable output devices 100 may also be possible. Moreover,the portable output device 400 may provide capability for dynamic ballmovement analysis. As such, the portable output device 400 may be ableto receive and process real-time or near-real-time data emitted from theball 100. Software and processing capability of the portable outputdevice 400 may enable a user to track the location of the ball on a mapin real-time or near-real-time. Furthermore, the portable output device400 may facilitate evaluation of ball movement over time. Hence, theoutput device 400 may provide a user with the variable direction,velocity, and/or acceleration of a moving ball 100. In addition, theportable output device 400 may have capability to store ball movementover time so that a user can review ball location and dynamicscorresponding to previous ball 100 movements. A user may, therefore,analyze stored repeated ball movement to determine trends and trackdynamic ball response due to various impetuses for ball movement.Additionally, the portable output device may have capability tocalculate and display statistics pertaining to repeated ball movement.It is understood that the telemetric capabilities of athletic ball 100may be utilized in enhancing driving range practice or in similarpractice corresponding to different ball embodiments such as baseball200 (shown in FIG. 3) or other athletic ball embodiments. Still further,the portable output device may include a charge indicator capable ofdisplaying the amount of power source available within the athletic ball100.

Where an embodiment of an athletic ball 100 utilizes a multiplexingsignal relay (shown in FIG. 4), a method of using the ball 100 may varyaccordingly. For example, the relay may pass on signals 310 a-c sentfrom satellites 300 a-c to a position-processing output device, such asportable output device 400. The signals 310 a-c would retain their timedependent nature as relayed from the ball 100 to the portable outputdevice 400. Those in the art should recognize that the signals may alsobe relayed to a stationary position-processing device such as a centralcomputer or other like apparatus have capability to receive, process,and output the relayed signals. Because the signals 310 a-c retaintime-dependent data when relayed, the position processing output device,such as portable output device 400 may triangulate the global positionof the ball 100 and correlate the position with GPS software. Thelocation of the ball 100 may then be displayed in a graphical map or viaother display means so that a user may be apprised of the location ofthe ball 100. Moreover, because the position-processing output device,such as portable output device 400, can determine and display thelocation of the ball 100, the global position of the position-processingout put device, such as portable output device 400, need not bedetermined.

With further reference to FIG. 5 and additional reference to FIGS. 2 and4, an embodiment of a method of using an athletic ball 100 may involve auser initiated signal 160 being emitted from a portable output device400 to the athletic ball 100. The signal 160 may contain data that maybe used to manage or control various interior components of the ball100. For example, the user may broadcast a signal 160 which may bereceived by the receiver 50 coupled to processor 60 and utilized tochange the mode of power source 80 (also shown in FIG. 2) from dormantto active. Power output modification may also be possible by a signalbased on a distance range from the ball 100. For example, the athleticball 100 may respond to a signal and power up when the signal isbroadcast with in a range of inches, or feet. Further, power managementof the athletic ball 100 may be preprogrammed into the processor 50,regulated by a movement sensor 260 controlling power output, or by someother like means. Further still, the signal 160 may prompt other capableresponses from the processor 60, the receiver 50 and/or other likecomponents. For instance, the signal 160 may be relayed by amultiplexing signal relay 250 to a separate stationary output device. Assuch, the athletic ball may act to communicatively connect a stationaryoutput device and a portable output device 400. Moreover, the signal 160may prompt performance modifications pertaining to the transmitter 70 byhelping to facilitate changes in the length of a time period for signalbroadcasting or by increasing or decreasing a rate of intermittentsignal transmission. Additionally, a user may power off the athleticball by sending a power down control as signal 160. Thus, the useablelifespan of the athletic ball 100 may be preserved and extended.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specificembodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention as set forth aboveare intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

1. An athletic ball comprising: a receiver, said receiver configured toreceive GPS signal data; a microprocessor, said microprocessorconfigured to triangulate received GPS signal data and determine ballposition; and a transmitter, said transmitter configured to transmitsaid ball position to an output device.
 2. The athletic ball of claim 1,further comprising a power source.
 3. The athletic ball of claim 2,wherein the power source is a battery.
 4. The athletic ball of claim 1,wherein the output device is a portable electronic device having agraphical display.
 5. The athletic ball of claim 4, wherein the portableelectronic device includes capability for showing computed location ofthe ball on a graphical map.
 6. The athletic ball of claim 4, whereinthe portable electronic device includes capability for transmittingsignals to the ball.
 7. The athletic ball of claim 1, wherein the ballis a golf ball having a dimpled exterior surface.
 8. An athletic ballcomprising: a multiplexing signal relay, said relay configured toreceive signals simultaneously broadcast by a plurality ofearth-orbiting satellites and communicate the received satellite signalsto a position-processing output device.
 9. The athletic ball of claim 8,further comprising a power source.
 10. The athletic ball of claim 9,wherein the power source is a battery.
 11. The athletic ball of claim 8,wherein the position-processing output device is a handheld computerhaving a graphical display.
 12. The athletic ball of claim 11, whereinthe handheld computer includes capability for computing and graphicallymapping a location of the ball.
 13. The athletic ball of claim 11,wherein the handheld computer includes capability for transmitting atleast one signal to the ball.
 14. The athletic ball of claim 8, furthercomprising a movement sensor.
 15. The athletic ball of claim 14, whereinthe movement sensor is a piezoelectric sensor.
 16. The athletic ball ofclaim 8, wherein the ball is a golf ball having a dimpled exteriorsurface.
 17. A method for determining the telemetry of an athletic ball,said method comprising: providing an athletic ball having a GPSreceiver, a microprocessor, and a transmitter; receiving satellitesignal data into the receiver included within the ball; processing thereceived data to compute the position of the ball; and transmitting thecomputed ball location to an output device.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising providing an athletic ball having a power source. 19.The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting a signal fromthe output device to the athletic ball.
 20. The method of claim 17,wherein the output device is a portable electronic device havingcapability to graphically display the location of the ball.
 21. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising tracking the ball while playing agame of golf.